


Water Dragon

by Selah



Series: Gensou [41]
Category: Jrock, L'Arc~en~Ciel, VAMPS (Japanese Band), 己龍 | Kiryuu
Genre: Gen, PTSD flashbacks, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Supernatural Elements
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-15
Updated: 2016-12-15
Packaged: 2018-09-08 20:27:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 817
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8859868
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Selah/pseuds/Selah
Summary: He liked being alone in the pool house. It was warm, isolated, and peaceful. Right up until it wasn't.





	

**Author's Note:**

> time stamp: late summer 2015  
> For the purposes of Gensou, the Tokyo house Gackt has put on the internet via his Instagram and GACKT na Game vids is his public residence, whereas this pool house is part of a private residence technically owned by You.

Takemasa stared up at the night-dark skylights above him, listening to the gentle lapping of the pool all around him and not really seeing much of anything. Or maybe there just wasn't anything to see. Middle of the night, the pool house was very much empty, other than himself, leaving him quite alone with his melancholy thoughts. Just the way he liked it.

“Shouldn't be in here all by yourself,” a familiar voice called out to him, echoing slightly off the tiles. So much for being alone with himself.

“Not like I'm in any danger of drowning, senpai,” he said, a little surprised by the sigh in his own voice. He closed his eyes as he continued to float out in the middle of the pool. A splash of someone diving into the deep end, but Takemasa ignored it; Gackt's pool was more than big enough for two people to share it without even necessarily having to interact at all. Odd for Hyde to be wanting a swim in the middle of the night, but who was he to question? He kept his eyes closed, trying to track the other's movements just by sound, though the echoing made it difficult. The nudge and mumbled apology caught him by surprise, but the bump wasn't enough to really disrupt his equilibrium in the water, so he let it go.

The second bump and mumbled apology, however, were much more suspicious. Takemasa cracked open his eyes, but laying on his back meant he couldn't really see where Hyde was, only just that he had floated out far enough from the edges to be in water too deep for him to simply stand up without being over his head. So instead he sighed and told himself if it happened again, he'd splash him with water and call it good enough.

In hindsight, the loud splashing really should have clued him in sooner. And yet Takemasa had been completely unprepared for his senpai seemingly trying to swim right through him, limbs flailing in all directions as they went down together. Another beat and he shifted into snake form, slithering free and wriggling towards the edge of the pool. Shifting back, he hauled himself out of the pool and prayed his senpai wouldn't notice the way he was shaking. Squeezing his eyes shut, he tried to just shove away the memories, the fading echo of a cruel laugh ringing in his ears.

 _It's not real, it's not real, it's not real_ , he repeated to himself again and again. The water sloshed around his legs, someone was saying something, but it was just a buzz in his ears. Everything was wrong, he had turned back into a snake again and the wetness was seeping cold into him even in spite of the ambient warmth of the pool house.

Something large and furry nudged his flank. A flick of the tongue said predator-cat-dark-bad and he hurriedly wriggled away. Until a giant paw landed on his tail. Panic flared within him at being trapped and he thrashed hard. When that didn't work, he whipped around to try to bite his attacker, but the cat was faster, dancing away. Takemasa yanked his tail back, weaving in the air a bit as he tasted the cat's scents. There was a low chuffing sound and the predator wasn't pressing his advantage, hanging back just out of his lunge range. Silently whining to himself, he pulled in on himself and cursed his snake skin for all the heat leaking out onto the wet poolside tiles. It wasn't safe but he was too cold to be able to muster the strength to change back. And still that phantom laugh all around him, the voice of his tormentor saying all the things he didn't want to hear.

Though his snake ears couldn't properly parse the words, he could hear someone speaking. Tongue flicking out, Hyde's trace was fading from the room, the only active scents he could catch were chlorine and the jaguar. But that didn't make sense because he could definitely hear speaking. Another flick, the jaguar was down on his belly, a decidedly non-threatening posture ... until he started half wiggling, half crawling forward towards him. He tried to scoot backwards, the jaguar stopped a moment, then tried to crouch even lower while wiggling forward again while the voice kept saying ... something. It was such bizarre behavior and Takemasa was cold and wet and tired and when had the jaguar gotten close enough to curl himself around him and nuzzle his head?? And was that ... purring? Purring and furry head rubs and Takemasa was so very, very tired. Maybe ... the jaguar wasn't trying to eat him, maybe it was okay? He couldn't really burrow into the short fur, not like he could with shaggy foxes, but the warms were still there, calling to him. If he could just get warm again....


End file.
